Educational Philosophy
Emma's guiding educational philosophy, known on campus as EMpowerment, teaches that every young woman who attends Emma Willard will be encouraged to develop fully in all areas of her life—as a strong intellectual in a variety of disciplines, as a practitioner of her chosen passions, as a social member of the Emma community, and as a responsible global citizen in her future.
In keeping with this philosophy of personal development providing its own benchmarks, class rank is not provided. The grading system uses letter and number grades. It does not use the plus and minus grading system. It goes as follows: A, A-, B, B-, C, C-, etc. accompanied usually by a number indicating where on the spectrum the individual student falls. Emma Willard's independent-study program, Practicum, allows students to pursue coursework at area colleges, career internships, community service, and individualized athletic training and competition off campus for academic credit. Over one-third of the students participate in Practicum each year.
Emma Willard students have worked to make Emma Willard School the first Fair Trade–certified high school in the United States. Originating with Natasha Kappaya and Natalia Choi, co-founders of the student group Slavery No More, this effort expanded into a large, widespread movement in the school with the involvement of the faculty, administration, and other student groups such as the Fair Trade group. Emma Willard received official certification as a Fair Trade school in 2010.
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